In my world, there is nothing cozier than a hot bowl of oatmeal with a splash of of maple syrup on a chilly fall morning. Throw in a spoonful of peanut butter and you’ve got one amazing combination.

These Maple Peanut Butter Oatmeal Pecan Bars are soft and full of texture loaded in every bite. The delightful crunch comes from the rolled oats and chopped pecans.

They are everything I love about my ideal autumn flavored oatmeal in easy and convenient portable bars.

Plus they contain NO butter or refined sugar and are a little more healthy and wholesome with the oat flour, coconut oil and peanut butter.

If you can’t find oat flour, you can make your own and grind it up in a food processor or sub with your favorite all purpose or white whole wheat flour.

They’re also not cloyingly sweet having just a touch of maple syrup and a naturally sweet and chewy date center that resembles a gooey caramel filling.

They sort of remind me of a soft-baked version of my No-Bake Granola Bars which are a popular favorite around here and we usually like to keep them stored in the fridge since they tend to soften up slightly when left out at room temperature too long.

You can enjoy them for an after workout snack or stash them in your lunchbox to go. Either way, they make a satisfying and healthy breakfast or anytime snack that the entire family will love!

To make the date filling - In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the dates and water. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil, mashing down with a spoon. Reduce heat, and continue mashing down while stirring constantly about 2 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter until combined. Set aside.

To make the oatmeal bars - Mix flax egg in a small bowl or mug and set aside to thicken.

In a medium microwaveable bowl, heat coconut oil on high for 20 seconds. Remove from microwave and whisk in peanut butter until smooth. Add vanilla and maple syrup. Stir in flax egg and 2 tablespoons of prepared date paste and mix until combined. Set aside. Leave the remaining date paste for filling the oatmeal bars.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour in the melted coconut oil/peanut butter mixture and stir until combined and thick.

Pat half of the mixture into the prepared pan - pressing down firmly and spread flat with an offset spatula.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool. You can speed up the cooling process by putting the pan in the fridge if needed. Cut into square bars.

Optional topping: Top each square with a small dollop of peanut butter in the center, place whole pecan on top and drizzle melted peanut butter or chocolate over each square.

Best if stored in the fridge. They will be slightly softer if stored at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

*If you can't find oat flour, you can make your own by grinding oats up in a food processor - measure oat flour after grinding the oats. Or substitute with all purpose or white*To make Flax Egg = mix 1 tbsp ground flax with 3 tbsp warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes while it “gels” up. Use the "flax gel" as a replacement for the egg.To make vegan, use this flax egg as well as dairy free milk and chocolate chips.You can sub one large egg in place of the flax egg if keeping this recipe vegan is not a concern*** You can also substitute melted butter in place of the coconut oil if keeping this recipe vegan is not a concern

As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.

Comments

I wish I could just reach right through my screen and grab a few of these gorgeous bars, Kelly! These sound absolutely delicious! I love that you used maple peanut butter in here. It sounds like it gives these bars such a perfect fall flavor. Love this!

Oats and peanut butter together is magic! I love monster cookies for the very reason. I am planning to make another kind of oat bar next week for when I meet up with some friends. You make me want to cast that aside after seeing this. I just love the chewy texture of a bar like this…so satisfying!

Peanut butter and oats are totally where it is at! I may be biased because of my cocoa allergy, but that combination makes my belly swoon, and these bars have me all sorts of giddy, Kelly! These look perfect- I love the maple, peanut butter, pecans and date combination! So much flavor there, but you took it over the top with the peanut butter drizzle! I’ll take a dozen, all for ME! Pinned! P.S. Bobs Red Mill is THE best!

The Mighty Maple pb is the best (but their chocolate one is so darn good too)! My only problem with making this is I don’t think I can stop eating the peanut butter to get it in bar form. Obviously, the answer is to buy two jars of peanut butter! And that drizzly topping is spot on!

Those do look like some amazing bars! So many layers to love 🙂 The combination of peanut butter + oatmeal is a familiar one to me, from putting peanut butter in my oatmeal all the time…so I imagine they work wonderfully in here! 😀

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Hi, I'm Kelly. I'm a mom of two who shares healthier and authentic Asian recipes I grew up making. Plus low carb & family friendly recipes. AboutWork With Me